Guardians Of The Galaxy Casts WWE's Dave Bautista For Drax The Destroyer

More than a month after we learned that Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt was cast in the role of Star-Lord in Marvel's anticipated superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy comes official word on the casting for Drax, and it isn't Isaiah Mustafa, Patrick Wade, or even Jason Momoa, who was rumored to be offered the role last month. WWE wrestler, mixed martial artist and sometimes actor Dave Bautista, a.k.a. "Batista," has landed the role.

Guardians of the Galaxy will be directed by James Gunn and is said to be tied to The Avengers and other Marvel movies. Pratt stars as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, a U.S. pilot who finds himself on the run after a trip to space puts him in the middle of a universal conflict. He ends up teamed up with a group of "futuristic ex-cons" who have something everyone wants. According to THR, Bautista will play the part Drax the Destroyer, who's described as "a human resurrected as a green warrior with the sole purpose of killing Thanos," the mysterious character featured during the credits for The Avengers.

Drax is known to have the power of flight, super-strength and energy blasts. And based on this casting news, he's also a really big guy, or he is for this movie. Bautista is 6'6" and 290 lbs. Most of his listed credits are for WWE wrestling, but on the acting side, he's appeared in a number of direct-to-video films, including House of the Rising Sun and The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption, with Ron Perlman. He's also set to appear in David Twohy's Riddick, which is due out this fall and may offer the actor the right kind of preparation for Guardians in terms of big screen sci-fi adventure.